BENJAMIN
SIMON was born January 23, 1892, according to his World War I draft
card. He is listed in the 1914 Camden City Directory, living at 280
Sycamore Street in South Camden, and working as a carpenter. He joined the Camden Police Department
on December 1, 1916. By the time he registered for the draft in June of 1917 he
had moved around the corner, to 280 Chestnut
Street.

Benjamin Simon served as a detective on Camden's
Police Department in 1930s and 1940s. He was often partnered with
Detectives Clifford Del
Rossi and Joseph
Mardino. While partnered with Detective
Del
Rossi he was involved in the arrest of the notorious Philadelphia
"Nig" Rosen. Detectives Simon and Del Rossi also were involved
in a gun battle where the suspect was slain.

Benjamin
Simon lived with his wife Bella at 1413 Kenwood Avenue in the Parkside
neighborhood in the late 1940s. Also living at the Kenwood Avenue address
at that time was
his daughter, Rose Simon Swerlick, and her husband Morris, who was then
in the wholesale grocery business in Philadelphia. The Swerlicks would
move to Randolph Street in East
Camden, where they would reside until 1962. Rose Swerlick served as
President for both the Sisterhood at Beth
El Synagogue (then in Parkside)
and as President of the PTA at Cramer
Elementary School.

Benjamin
and Bella Simon remained in Parkside
through the 1950s, until Bella Simon's death in 1959. Benjamin Simon
remained on Kenwood Avenue until about 1963, when he moved to Cherry
Hill NJ, where he lived out his days with his daughters and
grandchildren. Benjamin Simon passed away in September of 1967. He
was survived by his sons George, William and Jack Simon, and his
daughters Evelyn Fields and Rose (Swerlick) Rosenbloom, as well as his ten
grandchildren.

One
of Benjamin
Simon's granddaughters, Judy
Swerlick, is an educator and painter. She has taught
art in the United States and Japan since 1977. She
taught English in Japan in 1977-78 and has taught art and
special education in the United States since 1978.

Pleading
guilty to attempting to end her life by drinking poison, Sarah Turner,
17, of 338 Lansdowne
Avenue, was given suspended sentence by Police
Judge Pancoast
yesterday.

The
girl was arrested after she was treated at Cooper Hospital. She told
Detective Ben Simon she
drank the poison because she was jealous of her sister. William Harrity,
24, of 409 Senate Street, Sarah's sweetheart, was held as a material
witness but was released today when he said he knew nothing of the
quarrel between the sisters.

Camden
Courier-Post - October 26,1931

Four
Suspects Caught as Series of Weekend Robberies Keep Police BusySTOLEN
GARAGE LOOT FOUND IN AUTO AS 4 MEN ARE NABBED
Trio
Held at Gloucester for Robbing Store at Westville Grove
OIL STOVE IS STOLEN

Loot
valued at several hundred dollar was recovered and four men arrested
over the weekend as many robberies were reported to police throughout
South Jersey.

Three
of the men arrested were captured in Gloucester when merchandise stolen
from a Westville Grove store and garage was found in their automobile.
The fourth man was arrested in Camden.

Those
under arrest in Gloucester, are Joseph Rietseh, 47, of 1245 Palmer
street; Joseph Dorman, 18, of 103 Chango street, and Charles Headley,
18, of 936 North Fourth street, all of Philadelphia.

The
loot found in their car consisted of automobile tires, cigarettes,
safety razors, tubes and other articles. It had been stolen from the
store and garage of George A. Fields, Delsea Drive, Westville Grove.

The
three men were arrested by Patrolmen Walter Lane and William Fowler. who
stopped their car because it had but one headlight.

Taken
back to Westville the three men were held without bail for the grand
jury by Recorder Charles H. Benner.

Saunders
will have a hearing today before Police Judge Pancoast,
on a charge of larceny.

James
Josephson, 3320 Lancaster Avenue, Philadelphia, a salesman for the
Household Institute of New York reported the loss of two cases of
aluminum ware and an investigation was conducted by Detective Sylvester
McGrath. Upon information he entered the apartment alleged to have been
tenanted by John Harrigan, of 1289 Dayton Street and found the
merchandise. Harrigan is said by the police to have left the apartment.
The goods are valued at $150.

William
H. McMakin, of 119 West Pine Street, Audubon, reported to Detective
Robert Ward that he was held up at Pine
Street near Fifth on Sunday morning by three young men. They
relieved him of his watch, valued $35, and his drivers license. McMakin
was unable to describe the culprits.

William
Harris, 53, of 1731 Fillmore
Street, told Detective Clifford
Carr he was relieved of his wallet containing $6.90 by an unknown
man at Haddon Avenue and Copewood Street, Sunday morning. He described
the man as being about 27 years old and wearing a light cap.

Thieves
entered the candy shop of Jones Wilson, Park
Boulevard and Kaighn
Avenue, Saturday night and took three cartons of cigarettes, some
candy and soda valued at $23.

A
grocery store operated by Joseph S. Eskowitz, of 1022 Broadway,
was entered early yesterday and the thieves took three dozen cans of
malt syrup valued at $12. Detective Benjamin
Simon discovered the burglar gained his entrance by cutting a pane
of glass out of the back window.

Louis
E. Barnes, 21, colored, employed by the police department to catch a
colored man who has been reported preying on unemployed and collecting
money from them in promise of a job, has informed police that such a man
got away from him on October 24. He is known to the police and will be
picked up, they said.

Barnes
said the man being sought told him to give him $2.50 for a white coat
and he would get him a job in the kitchen of the Cooper Hospital. When
Barnes returned with the money the man had disappeared..

PAYROLL
THEFT IS
RE-ENACTED; TWO MEN HELD
Camden Suspects, Brought Back From Penna., Viewed by
Victims
MAN ADMITS LOAN OF MACHINE TO ONE
Radio Workers Cannot Identify Them, They're Booked on Suspicion

The $11,790
payroll holdup staged last Friday at the Radio Condenser Co., Thorne and
Copewood
streets, was, re-enacted yesterday.

Two
suspects nabbed late Monday, at Lykens in Dauphin County, Pa., played
the "heavy" roles. Also in the cast were eight women and two
men, employees of the firm. For an hour and 20 minutes the spectacular
robbery was "rehearsed" under the direction of three Camden
detectives.

Acting Chief
of Police John W. Golden
admitted he "has nothing on the boys." Detectives Benjamin
Simon,
Clarence Arthur and Clifford
Del Rossi, however, "were pressing pursuit of
"hunches" and meager clues in attempts to solve the crime.
There were several lines of information they obtained regarding the two
suspects which will bear further study, Simon
said.

Putak, who
has a po1ice record although never convicted according to
police, was questioned previously in connection with the Radio Condenser
"job." He was released at midnight last Saturday. After that the detectives centered attention upon Jenkins. They learned
Jenkins borrowed an automobile from a man who operates a garage in the
1200 block on Atlantic
Avenue. The garageman was reluctant to talk but under
threat of arrest as an accessory he admitted lending a car to Jenkins.

Fliers were
dispatched to police throughout Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware and New
Jersey. The car was halted at Williamsport, Pa. and when Camden police
were identified they were surprised that Putak was Jenkins' companion.
This stirred detectives to renewed vigor in the
probe. They learned the men were planning to visit relatives, of Jenkins
in Williamsport and Pottsville. Acording to Simon police of both cities say Jenkins is
well known to them.

While at
Williamsport the three detectives learned Putak and Jenkins
visited a vice den and quarreled with a woman over money. They quoted
Jenkins as declaring that he "could buy and sell the joint!'

Had Little Money

Putak had but
$3 when released Saturday and $11 when arrested, Simon revealed. He told the detectives he had won money in a
poker game here.

The
two men were returned with the detectives as far as Philadelphia but
refused to cross the river. They were turned over to police there on
suspicion and. brought to this city yesterday afternoon. Taken to the
Radio Condenser plant they were confronted with the ten employees who
were herded in a vault during the holdup last Friday.

According
to Simon
several of the employees felt there were certain mannerisms of the
suspects which corresponded with actions of the bandits but confessed
they were unable to definitely identify Putak or Jenkins as the heavily
masked pair who threatened their lives with a revolver and
shotgun. .

The
detectives propose an inquiry to al1 banks in this area in an effort to learn whether safe deposit boxes were leased by
anyone answering the description of the suspects. The money obtained in
the robbery was in bills and change of small denomination,
numbers of the bills were not available.

Although
never convicted Jenkins has a police record. Putak has never been
formally under arrest, but has been questioned by the police in
connection with various cases.

Jenkins was
arrested December 18, 1931, charged with larceny of gasoline, and on last July 9 was charged with several robberies.

On April 2,
1931, he was held for the grand jury, charged with manslaughter after his automobile killed Mrs. Mary Cavanaugh,
70, a cook in the service of City Solicitor E. G.
C. Bleakly.

Camden
Courier-Post - June 2, 1933

TWO
SUSPECTS HELD IN PAYROLL HOLD-UPSouth
Camden Men Will Be Grilled on $11,790 Theft at Radio Condenser

Held
as suspects in the $11,790 Radio Condenser Company payroll holdup of
last Friday, Leroy Jenkins, 23, and Joseph
Putek, 23, South Camden
police characters, tomorrow will be given a police court hearing.

Police
admit their evidence against the pair is "flimsy" but hope to
be able to hold them in high bail pending further investigation.

They
declared they have unearthed a South Camden garage man who will testify
at the hearing that he rented a garage to Jenkins, in which a dark
automobile, similar to the one used in the holdup, is stored at the
present time.

The
detectives have also found a special officer, they said, who will
testify to having seen the two suspects riding in a small black car in
the vicinity of the Condenser concern's plant a short time before the
holdup.

The
suspects' mannerisms and voices have been identified by, the ten office
employees, victims of the two bandits staging the holdup. Further
identification was impossible because the bandits wore hoods over their
heads and down to their shoulders.

Camden
Courier-Post - June 3, 1933

4
YOUTHS HELD IN
HOLDUP AT RADIO PLANT2
in Jail at Time 'in on Plot,' Cops' Say; Booked as WitnessesPAIR
CAUGHT IN PENNA. TO FACE CHARGE TODAYCondenser
Company Payroll Robbery Planned in April, Sleuths Reveal

Two Camden
youths, released from Camden county jail, were held by local police
yesterday on suspicion of implication in the $11,790 holdup of the Radio
Condenser Company, Thorne and Copewood
streets, last Friday.

Although both
denied knowledge of the payroll holdup, detectives said they admitted
having been close pals of Leroy Jenkins, 23; of 1161 Mechanic Street,
and Joseph Putek, 23, of 1462
Louis Street, who were arrested in Lykens, Pa., on Monday.

Grinkewicz
and Geda are being held on suspicion but, according to Detectives Clarence Arthur; Benjamin
Simon and Clifford
Del Rossi, they will be charged today with
being material witnesses, while Jenkins and Putak will be charged with
the holdup and will be arraigned in police court.

Grinkwicz and
Geda were arrested yesterday morning on their release from county jail.
They had been committed May 9 by Recorder Joseph Patton, of Haddon
Heights, for 30 days on charges of loitering with intent to steal. They were questioned all
day by detectives.

Detectives said they
learned Jenkins and Putak were with Grinkewicz and Geda in Haddon
Heights "to do a job" but that the other two disappeared when Grinkewicz
and Geda were arrested. Although they were in the county jail at the
time, the detectives said they learned they had participated with
Jenkins and Putak in planning the Radio Condenser job five weeks ago.

Camden
Courier-Post - June 4, 1933

BREWERY
OFFlCE RANSACKED IN MYSTERY THEFTTwo
Rooms Turned Upside Down But Safe
Is
Not RobbedPOLICE
THINK PAPERS WERE BURGLARS' GOALOfficials
of Camden Firm Are Unable to Explain Motive of Attempt

Burglars
ransacked the offices of the Camden
County Beverage Company early yesterday but what they took, if
anything, had not been disclosed late last night.

In a mystery
"robbery" that has police puzzled, the thieves broke through a
glass window on the rear loading platform, climbed inside and proceeded
to turn three different offices of the brewery "inside out" in
their quest.

The handle off
the huge safe in the wall of the first-floor office, was broken, but the
safe had not been opened according to Detectives Benjamin
Simon and Clifford Del
Rossi.

But it, appeared to have been the only
thing not opened by the intruders.

Waste Baskets
Searched

Filing cabinets
and desk drawers were pulled out and their contents littered the floor.
Even a wastebas­ket had been searched and its contents strewn about.

Apparently
finding nothing of val­ue on the first floor, the thieves, or thief
made their way to the second floor where another office of the concern
was ransacked from top to bottom.

Entrance to the brewery was made
between 6 a. m. and 7 a. m. A watchman, Richard McKinley, who lives at
550 Chelton Avenue left the building at 6 o'clock and Olaf J. Hall, a bookkeeper arrived
there at 7. a.m.

Hall went immediately to a second
floor office where he saw several of the
filing cabinets and desks had been gone through, but he failed to report
it to his, superiors.

According to
Frank R. Allison, secretary and treasurer of the brewery, Hall believed
someone connected with the brewery had been searching for something, and
being in a hurry had forgotten to replace things as he found them.

The
"robbery" was not noticed un­til Nicholas Enderle, brewmaster,
entered the building shortly before noon. He saw the offices on the
first. floor in disorder and notified Allison.

The latter
notified police, who could not learn whether anything of value had been
stolen.

Were Seeking Papers

Detective Simon advanced a
theory that the thieves had, been in search of valuable papers, rather
than cash.

McKinley was
questioned at the plant and declared that everything was "in
order" when he left. He said two police dogs were left on the rear
platform to guard against thieves. Later it was learned the dogs
followed McKinley to his home.

The Camden
County Beverage Company has been cited by the government on a rule to
show cause why its 3.2 beer permit should not be revoked. The hearing on
the citation was, scheduled for May 22, but, has been postponed
indefinitely to await the conclusion of other cita­tion hearings.

Allison said he
did not know of any valuable papers that would in­terest thieves. He
expressed belief the robbers sought collections made by drivers on
Saturday and kept in the brewery office until the banks open on Monday.

After
Brewery-Breakers Ransacked Offices

Pictures
show how burglars ransacked the offices of the Camden County
Cereal Beverage Company, Broadway and Bulson Street, yesterday
after breaking into the brewery through a rear window. Detectives
Benjamin Simon and Clifford Del
Rossi
are shown "looking
things over" in the lower photo while Del
Rossi
is searching
for possible fingerprints in the top picture. The robbers
apparently failed to find what they were looking for.

After
refusing defense counsel's request that the city police bare their
evidence, Police Judge Pancoast
yesterday held two suspects without bail in the recent $11,790 Radio
Condenser Company holdup and two other youths as material witnesses.

Frank
M. Lario, attorney for the quartet, appeared in police court
yesterday with William McDonald, court stenographer, and declared he
wanted the police through witnesses on the stand, to reveal what
evidence they have in the robbery.

But
when Judge Pancoast
asked Lario if he was willing to have the prisoners submit to cross
examination by the court the attorney refused. Judge Pancoast
thereupon declared that the formal complaints against the defendants
were sufficient to establish a prima facie case, that no hearing was
necessary and that the police therefore were not obliged to disclose
any testimony.

Leroy
Jenkins, 23, and, Joseph
Putek, 23, who gave addresses at 1113 Mechanic
Street and 1212 Lansdowne
Avenue, respectively, were committed
to the county jail without bail on charges of holdup and robbery.
They pleaded not guilty.

City
Detective Benjamin Simon,
who signed the complaints, stated prior to the hearing that he has
obtained information from North Jersey which is vital to his
investigation of the robbery. But he would not reveal its nature.

None
of the money stolen by the bandits, who herded 11 persons in a vault
after forcing one of them to open the safe containing the payroll,
has been recovered by the police.

A
fifth man was arrested in the recent Radio Condenser Company $11,790
payroll holdup and held as a material witness yesterday after city detectives alleged he attempted to escape from them in his
automobile. He is Nicholas Kubiak, 34, of 1301 Decatur
street, owner of a pool room on the corner of Decatur
and Norris
streets. Arraigned, before Judge Pancoast in police court, Kubiak was committed to the county jail without bail as a witness.

City Detectives
Benjamin Simon, Clifford Del Rossi and
Clarence Arthur stated they went to the pool room this morning and told Kubiak he was under arrest. He accompanied them to the sidewalk and suddenly stepped
into his own automobile parked at the curb. The detectives said he started the engine, whereupon the police car was driven in front of him so he couldn't move.
Simon declared that he jumped on the running board of Kubiak's car and reached in to grab the ignition key. Kubiak tried to push him off the running board.
Simon said, and the key was obtained only after a tussle.

Simon said he has three statements signed by persons who charged they heard Kubiak declare the holdup was planned in his poolroom and that Leroy Jenkins and
Joseph Putek were the actual bandits.
Jenkins and Putek are charged with the holdup and are held under $3000 bail each. The bail was fixed by Prosecutor Baldwin.

Simon stated he previously had questioned Kubiak, but could learn nothing to warrant holding the man until he received the statements late last night.
Simon said if he had been able to obtain the statements prior to yesterday, he doubted that bail would have been fixed so low.

Found guilty of stealing $25 and a wrist watch from a man who came to Camden for liquid refreshments John Cheek, 27, colored, of 735
Kaighn
Avenue, was sentenced to six months in jail by Judge Garfield Pancoast in Camden Police Court yesterday.

His accuser, William Henninger, of Ardmore, Pennsylvania, was roundly scored by Judge Pancoast for coming here to drink beer, and was warned to stay away from Camden. Henninger said Cheek attacked and robbed him near
Second and
Pine Streets. John Barton, 25, of 830
South Second
Street, and Viola Lewis, 39, of 315
Division
Street, both colored, who were arrested on suspicion, were exonerated and freed. Detective
Benjamin Simon said the stolen wrist watch and $3.75 were found on Cheek..

MYSTERY SHOTS PIERCE DOOR OF CAMDEN HOME

Mystery shots that splintered the door of a South Camden home yesterday started the police on a search for a group of youths seen loitering in the neighborhood.

Mrs. James Falconiero, of 354
Cherry Street, reported to Detective
Benjamin Simon that she was awakened at 5 a. m., by a series of shots. She said she looked out a window and saw several young men entering an automobile a short distance from her home.

An inspection of the front of the house revealed several holes in the door caused by bullets. One missile, of 38-calibre was found buried in the plaster in the hallway.

Camden Courier-Post
June 17, 1933

Camden
Courier-Post - June 19, 1933

PRIZE PRISONER
HELD SECRETLY SEVEN WEEKS SAWS WAY OUT
Guarded Rigidly, Segregated From Others, Accused of Two Robberies
SLIPS THROUGH HOLE 'TOO TINY FOR ANY MAN' Drops to Yard by 'Rope' of Sheets; Saw Horse Helps Him Over Wall

"Eddie"
Adamski, most notorious of local gangland's safecrackers, has escaped
from Mt. Holly jail.

He was in
solitary confinement, allegedly under special guard and allowed no visitors other than his sister. He sawed away
the bars of his cell early yesterday and fled hours before his
disappearance was discovered.

The famed "Jimmy Valentine" of Camden-Philadelphia
mobsters was a mystery prisoner at Mt. Holly. In February Adamski, alias Harry Burns, was sent to State
Prison for a three-year term by Judge Samuel M.
Shay, following conviction on a gun-toting charge. Several weeks ago Judge Shay issued a secret writ ordering
his appearance in the local court and the sentence was
suspended and Adamski turned over to Burlington county authorities.

Ellis H. Parker, chief of the Burl ington county detectives, said
yesterday Adamski was being held on two robbery cases- one at the home of Circuit Court Judge V. Claude Palmer,
Moorestown, and the second at the home of Kirkland Marter, Burlington.
Parker declares Adamski was indicted on both robbery charges by the Burlington county grand jury last week.The indictments were among the 45 impounded by the court and
not made public, Parker said.

Adamski was tn the south wing of the jail, in a cell block
known to inmates as "murderers' stir." Forty other prisoners
were in the north wing of the jail. The wardens office separates the two wings, with the
prisoners exercise yard, surrounded by a 30-foot wall, in the
rear.

At 11 p. m. Saturday Deputy Warden Atwood Wright and
Lovando Pond, a special assistant only recently hired by Sheriff George N. Wimer. visited the south wing and "put the
prisoner to bed."

That is the last seen of Adamski by jail officials.

At 7 a. m. yesterday, one of the two jail attaches- Wimer
refuses to reveal which- went to Adamski's cell with his breakfast.

His cell was empty.

Three bars had been neatly sawed away from the lone
window, leaving a space 13 by 7 inches, hardly enough for anyone to squeeze through.

Helpful Saw Horse

Attached to one of the remaining bars was Adamski's bed
clothing, knotted together and stretching to within a few feet
of the ground, 20 feet below. While his fellow prisoners had been asleep- and the guards
apparently busy elsewhere- Adamski had filed the bars, made his rope of bed clothing and fled.

But even then he was not free.

He had to get out of the jail yard.
A saw horse placed against the wall of the yard at the sheriff's
house, where Wimer has his offices and a deputy sheriff lives,
showed where Adamski had made his final bid for freedom. The wall at this point is slightly lower than around the rest of
the yard.

Prisoners Grilled

It is believed that "Eddie" climbed the wall, and then used the
roof of an outhouse adjoining the rear of the sheriff's office, to
reach the ground.

As soon as his disappearance was discovered, Parker, at his
summer home in Brant Beach, was summoned, as were Sheriff Wimer and Prosecutor Howard Eastwood.
All of the prisoners in the north wing were questioned, but little information gathered from them.
Eastwood then questioned both Wright and Pond. Deputy Warden Benjamin F. Farner, who was off duty and asleep in
the sheriff's apartment, also was questioned.

No one could tell how Adamski came by he saws.
His last visitor and the only one he has been allowed since put
in the jail was his sister, who talked with him last Friday.

Rigidly Guarded

A deputy warden stood by her side during the conversation
and she was not allowed within arm length of the prisoner. Only once in the last seven weeks has Adamski been allowed
in the yard for exercise. And on that occasion two guards watched his every move.
No explanation of the care in guarding the prisoner was advanced by Burlington authorities other than their claim that
he was "a tough guy and very tricky."

Parker sent flyers to every police department in the east
immediately following notification that his prisoner had escaped.
His two secretaries, Mrs. Anna Bading and Mrs. Anna
Lippincott, and Detectives Clifford Cain and Clinton Zeller,
worked throughout the day on the case. State police under Corporal Jarvis Wood, of the Columbus barracks, also
assisted in notifying other departments.

Adamski is said to be wearing a brown suit, with a light hat.
He is five feet, ten inches tall and weighs about 160 pounds.

Gang's Lone Survivor

Adamski is the lone survivor of a gang of 12 men, known to
Philadelphia police as the "Seventh and Parrish streets mob."
His delicate sandpapered fingertips have opened a thousand
safes without the aid of knowing the combination, police said.
He has been arrested scores of times and spent much of his 28 years in jail.

His last arrest was when Camden Detectives
Benjamin Simon
and Edwin Mills led a raid on a Gloucester cafe, where
Adamski and two others, suspects in the $150,000 bond robbery of the George K. Bartle home in Philadelphia, were.

Adamski pulled a pistol from' his pocket and was about to
"shoot his way out" when the weapon was knocked from his hands by
Simon and Mills.

Parker Sends for Him

The two arrested with Adamski, Adam Szewezak and
Solomon Lutz, were turned over to Philadelphia authorities. Szewezak was convicted in the bond job and is serving a 15
year term in Eastern Penitentiary. Lutz was sentenced to a year
in Moyamensing for another robbery. Adamski was given three years
in New Jersey state prison on the weapon charge by Judge Shay.

After Adamski's imprisonment there, Parker learned of his
connection with numerous Burlington county robberies and sought to have him brought to Mt. Holly to answer for these
crimes.

Special Guard Denied

Parker said he had recovered part of the loot of the Palmer-Marter home on information he received
from Adamski. He said he "had enough on him to send him a way for 15 years."
Parker denied knowledge of a special guard over Adamski. Sheriff Wimer also denied the guard. He said Pond had been
hired recently "to fill in when the regular men went on their
vacations." He has been "learning the ropes" at the jail in preparation for the other men's absence.

Philadelphia detectives were assigned last night to "old
haunts" of Adamski in the hope that, penniless, he would return there .

Authorities were puzzled how he got the saw. He filed through
three bars, each an inch and three-quarters thick.

Did He Go Through Hole!

Wimer
believes the saw was concealed in his shoe when he was brought to prison.
At Trenton this was denied. Prison officials there said they
were certain nothing was concealed on his person when he was turned over to Burlington authorities.

Parker, too, was skeptical about Adamski's escape through
the hole in the window bars. "I can't see," Chief Parker said, "how any man could get
through such a small hole. But Adamski must have done so because he's sure enough gone."

The photo shows jail wall surrounding Burlington County jail
which "Eddie" Adamski (Inset) scaled early. yesterday to
escape. "Eddie" filed away the bars of his cell, climbed down
a blanket rope and scaled the wall, which at this point is 25
feet high. He reached the ground by way of the roof of the
sheriff's house next door.

Camden
Courier-Post - June 24, 1933

Stricken
by
Food in
Camden Factory

Two
girl employees of the RCA Victor Company who are among nearly
100 persons suffering from ptomaine poisoning as the result of
eating from "box lunches." Miss Clara Schaeffer, left,
of Gloucester, and Miss Violetta Brown, Brooklawn, were confined
to their beds at their homes last night after receiving
treatment at
Cooper
Hospital.

60 OVERCOME WHILE AT WORK INRCA VICTOR; PROBE STARTEDNew
York Ship Employees Sent to Hospital From Ptomaine

More
than 60 of the workers, stricken at their machines in. the RCA Victor
Company plants, were rushed to the company's dispensary and local
hospitals. Many are reported in serious condition.

At
the New York Shipbuilding Company others became ill after partaking of
the lunches. Four are in West. Jersey
Homeopathic Hospital recovering from the effects of the poisoned
food. At least three more were stricken at the leather plant of the John
R. Evans Company, Second and Erie Streets.

In
Philadelphia more than a score of laundry workers were carried to
physicians and hospitals, all said to be victims of contaminated foods.

Physicians
believed all would recover.

Dr.
David D. Helm, city sanitary inspector, believed the ptomaine
condition resulted from the eating of egg sandwiches.

Following
the quizzing, Konst was ordered to refrain from further selling of the
box lunches in Camden, pending the result of an investigation. He also
must obtain complete approval from the Philadelphia Board of Health
before being allowed to resume operations here.

The
boxes, distributed by Konst, are labeled "The Majestic Lunch."
Konst declared that never before had complaint reached him as to the quality of his food.

"I
have ordered distribution of Majestic Lunches in Camden be stopped," Dr.
Helm said, "until the investigation
has been completed and the health authorities in Philadelphia to whom
all evidence will be given because they supervise this company, give
them a clean bill of health."

Two
of the box lunches have beenobtained by police and will be chemically analyzed
today by order of Dr.
A. L.
Stone, city health officer.

Konst
assured police he would assist in any manner possible to learn the
source and nature of the foodstuff causing the illness.

Woman
First Victim

'The
first illness occurred shortly after 3 p. m. at the RCA Victor plant. A
young woman was overcome after partaking of a glass of water. She was
taken to the dispensary where Dr. Reuben L. Sharp said she was suffering
from ptomaine poisoning.

Within
a short time several other girls and men in various sections of the
plant were stricken. Some fainted at their machines and had to be
carried to the dispensary.

Soon
Dr. Sharp and his staff of nurses had more than, they could handle.
Private automobiles were pressed into service and many of the victims
taken to Cooper
Hospital,
where stomach pumps were used to clear their bodies of the poisonous
food.

One
man, B. H. Poole, 40, of
144 North Sixtieth street, Philadelphia, was admitted and
his condition described as serious.

Others
were treated and sent to their homes, where many were at­tended last
night by their personal physicians.

Girl
Describes Scene

Miss
Clara. Shaeffer, 19, of
226 South Fifth Street, Gloucester, employed at the RCA Victor, told of
the scenes near her shortly before she became ill and was rushed to Cooper
Hospital for treatment.

"I
saw many of the girls running upstairs to the restroom," Miss
Schaeffer said at her home, where she is confined to bed, "but paid
little attention to them, although several had to be assisted upthe steps.

"Suddenly
I felt sick at my stomach and had a desire for a drink of
water.
I asked the girl next to me to get me a drink, but she was unable to
leave her machine at the time and Iwalked
to the fountain.

"After
taking the drink everything seemed to whirl about and Ithought
Iwas
going to faint. I told my foreman and he ordered me taken to the
dispensary.

"When
Iarrived
there the place was filled and someone took me to Cooper
Hospital, where the doctor gave me some medicine and I was taken to
my home."

Miss
Schaeffer said she grew worse after she arrived home and her parents
summoned a physician.

Fall
at Machines

Others
told similar stories of the scenes as worker after worker was stricken.
Plant officials said many had fallen where they stood, the ptomaine
attack seizing them so suddenly they had no time to summon aid.

Konst
told Detectives Benjamin Simon
and John Opfer that he sells
more than 200 box lunches in Camden daily. He has agents at the RCA
plants, New York Shipyard and at the leather companies.

He
also
sells more than 500 box lunches daily in Philadelphia.

The
lunch yesterday was made up of a cheese sandwich, an egg and lettuce
sandwich, a piece of apple pie, cupcake and fruit. Some of the lunches
contained tuna fish sandwiches.

Man's
Condition Serious

According
to Dr.
Helm,
all of those taken ill had eaten the egg sandwiches, some had partaken
of the tuna fish and others of the cheese.

One
man became ill when he ate half an egg sandwich given him by afellow
employee late in the afternoon.

The
laundry workers affected were employed at the Forrest Laundry, 1225
West Columbia Avenue, Philadelphia.

One
of these, John Gilligan, 52, of 1923
East Willard Street, was taken to St.
Luke's and Children's Homeopathic Hospital in a critical
condition.

Police
were checking other hospitals to learn if additional victims were
unreported.

Camden
Courier-Post - June 24, 1933

Partial
List Of Poisoned

A
partial list of the nearly 100
persons
poisoned by food at local factories yesterday follows:

Anthony
Gibbons, 35, of 1332 Decatur
Street, has learned that calling detectives saps is a very
"sappy" remark to make- he is now in the city jail on charges of
possessing stolen goods.

Last
Wednesday the automobile of John Harwan, of 1317 Sheridan Street, was
stolen from Van
Hook Street and Mt. Ephraim Avenue. It was recovered Thursday with
four wheels and tires missing. Charles Reynolds, of 1331 Van
Hook Street was arrested and sentenced to six months.

Gibbons,
was suspected of having the wheels and, tires. He was questioned Thursday
night and released by Detectives Benjamin
Simon and Clifford Del
Rossi after denial. The two detectives then heard via the
"grapevine" that Gibbons called them "saps." So they
shadowed him all day Saturday and discovered him making several visits at
the home of Vito Balducci, 1329 Decatur
Street. An investigation of the cellar of Balducci's home revealed the
missing tires and wheels.

Simon
and Del Rossi said that
Balducci was an innocent party to the crime and did not know Gibbons had
placed the articles in his cellar. Michael Reggiero, of 327 Sycamore
Street, told the detectives he saw Gibbons taking the tires and wheels
into the house while Balducci was out..

YOUTHS
PEDDLING RADIO
ARRESTED ON SUSPICION

Two
youths were arrested late last night on suspicion of stealing a radio
when one of them was interrupted by detectives while attempting to sell
it.

Detectives
Benjamin Simon, Clifford
Del Rossi and Robert
Ashenfelter became suspicious of a car parked at Norris
and Sheridan Streets. The occupant, Stephen Stanziak, 19, of 1279
Sheridan Street, said he was waiting for a companion who was in the
store of Michael Gucik, northeast corner of Norris
and Sheridan Streets. The detectives entered the store and found Joseph
Fiume, 16, of 1349 Van Hook Street,
attempting to sell a radio to Gucik. The youths said it had been given
to them by a man they did not know.

Camden Courier-Post
June 25, 1933

HE'S
NOT QUITE CERTAIN

William
P. Sweeten, 66, of 1245 Washington Street*, was treated at Cooper
Hospital yesterday for cuts of the nose and head after he had been
found wan4erlng in the vicinity of Fifth
and Royden
streets.

Slips
totaling $25 were found in Scarduzio's
possession. Tavolieri had only a few. The arrests were made near Fourth
Street and Ferry Avenues. They will be arraigned in police court today
before Judge Garfield
Pancoast.

JOBLESS
SON KILLS JAKE SCHILLER
WHO SAVES BOY’S WIFE FROM GUNSLAYER
CRAZED BY SEPARATION, RELATIVES SAY
Dazedly Insists He Had No Intention of Shooting SireESTRANGED
WIFE SEEN IN SUICIDE TRY
Slain Man Long Was Prominent Figure in Camden Politics

Jacob
Schiller, 72, for 45 years a political figure here, is dead,
shot by his own son.

The
slayer, William Schillcr, 30, a former summer policeman now
unemployed, was held over today to the grand jury on a charge of
murder. He made no comment whatever during his police court
hearing.

A
few hours later, young Schiller's wife, Augusta, whom he lad
also tried to shoot, was found wandering through the city
street, in all hysterical condition.

She
had written a note which police believed showed intent to commit
suicide, and had staggered dazedly through the streets last
night. Both in her note and in her incoherent statements to
detectives she declared she was to blame for the tragedy.

She
said her father-in-law had tried to save her and was killed in
the attempt.

The
slaying occurred Saturday night at the elder Schiller's home,
2420 Carman
Street. It climaxed an estrangement between young
Schiller and his wife, with "Jake" Schiller
attempting to reconcile the couple.

Mrs.
William Schiller, who had had her husband arrested several
months ago, said she believed he had become mentally deranged,
but Police Judge Pancoast was informed that an alienist had
examined young Schiller in July and pronounced him sane.

Couple
Separated

Young
Schiller had been living with his father at the Carman
Street
address, while Mrs. Schiller has been residing with her
parents, Mr. and Mrs. John I. Green, 409 North Thirty-seventh
Street. The cause of the estrangement has no been revealed by
police, but it is stated that young Schiller refused to
consent to a reconciliation.

"Jake"
Schiller was a Republican worker in the Twelfth ward for
years, and was at the time or his death inspector of city
street lights.

Were
Alone it Home

The
father and son were at home 9.00 p. m. Saturday night and
apparently were quarreling when the young Mrs. Schiller, her
brother-in-law and sister, Mr. and Mrs. William Miller and
another sister, Mrs. Lottie Bennehler, reached the house.

"Don't
come in here," the older Schiller shouted as they started
to enter the front sun parlor. But Miller did enter and said
young Schiller was clutching a revolver in his right hand. He
declared he closed in on his brother-in-law and tried to
wrench the revolver from him. Two shots rang out and the
father fell to the floor.

Keefe
said Schiller ran into the house when he saw him. Aided by
Miller, Keefe overpowered Schiller and placed an iron claw on
his right hand after disarming him.

Jacob
Schiller Jr., another son, learning of the shooting, went to
his father's home and took him to Cooper Hospital in a passing
automobile As he was being taken into the hospital he failed
to recognize City Detective Robert Ashenfelter and died five
minutes later.

Expresses
No Regret

Police
Sergeant John Potter joined Keefe and Miller and they took
young Schiller to police headquarters.

Keefe
said the son expressed no regret at shooting his father.

At
about 5 a, m. today, Policeman Keefe was patrolling his
"beat" when he passed the Schiller home on Carman
Street. He noticed the front door was standing open, and he
went inside to investigate.

The
officer saw a note on a smoking stand. Picking it up, he read:

"Dear
Everybody:

"Please
forgive me ... You have all been so wonderful ... But I couldn't
go on to see you all suffer for what is my fault ... Lottie was
right ... He killed his father because of insane love for me ...
But he didn't. I killed Pop and now am sending Bibs to jail for
my weakness.

"Tell
him I love him and ask my poor mother and dad to forgive me. I
should have done this long ago and saved everyone all this
suffering ... I love Billy and I know he loves me but I am
afraid he has been turned against me. But I forgive him for all.

Meanwhile,
Constable Dugan of the Twelfth Ward, saw Mrs. Schiller walking on Federal
Street near the Cooper River. She was mumbling to herself and
was in a hysterical condition, Dugan said.

Dugan
telephoned police headquarters. City Detectives Rox Saponare and
Maurice DeNicoli went out Federal
Street and took her back with them
to detective headquarters. There they sought to quiet her, but she
continually sobbed.

"I
want to take the blame- if I hadn't gone to Pop's home he would be
living now."

"Pop
wanted to save me," she said. "and he was shot. I can't eat
or sleep. I think I'm going crazy."

Later,
she was permitted to return to the home.

Young
Schiller had been held in the city jail over the weekend. Today he was
taken into police court. He wore no necktie and carried a raincoat
over his arm. He was rep resented by counsel, C. Lawrence
Gregorio,
who said he had been retained "by friends" to act as
attorney for the accused man.

City
detective Benjamin Simon had signed the complaint in which he charged
"on information received” that Schiller did feloniously and
with malice aforethought shoot and kill his father.

The
complaint was read to him and Gregorio told him not to say any thing,
as Judge Pancoast would enter a plea of "not guilty" in his
behalf. This was done by the court and Schiller was then held without
bail pending grand jury action. He was taken to the county jail.

Declared
Sane

After
the hearing, Mrs. Etta C. Pfrommer, acting overseer of the poor, told
Judge Pancoast that on July 26, Dr. Harry Jarrett,
Broadway and
Cherry
Street, well known alienist, had examined young Schiller and declared
him sane. The examination was made on the request of Mrs. Schiller in
police court on the previous day. At that time young Schiller had been
released by the court in the custody of his father.

County
Detective Chief Lawrence T.
Doran, who was among the first to question
young Schiller Saturday night, said the man did not seem repentant
over what he had done. He said Schiller did not give authorities much
information. According to Doran, young Schiller declared he had
objected frequently to his father that he did not want his wife to
come to their home.

"It
doesn't seem possible," said young Mrs. Schiller some hours after
the tragedy. "It seems as though it was only a dream. I don't
seem to remember anything.

"Poor
Bill. He must have been crazy. He idolized his father. You can blame
this all on the depression. He has been without work since they
eliminated summer policemen two years ago. He has been worried as a
result of being unable to obtain work. Just recently he started to
drink.

"Bill
intended to shoot me but his father tried to get the gun away from him
and I believe it went off accidentally. Nothing could convince me that
Bill would shoot his father in cold blood.

"I
went to his father's home last night to try to effect a reconciliation
with my husband. He had been drinking."

Registered
as Sober

The
police docket at headquarters shows Schiller registered as sober. The
entry was not made until 2.15 a. m., and the shooting occurred shortly
after 9.30 p.m.

Relatives
said the father had attempted for months to patch up the marital
difficulties of the couple.

Young
Schiller had been living lately with his sister, Mrs. Bennehler, 2530
Bank Street and his wife with her parents at 409 North Thirty-seventh
Street. He formerly lived at that address with his wife. He was
appointed a summer policeman in 1929 and served until they were all
dismissed two years ago.

Coroner
Holl and Dr. Edward B. Rogers, county physician, yesterday performed
an autopsy on the senior Schiller's body and ascertained that death
was due to an internal hemorrhage caused by a bullet wound of the
upper portion of the abdomen. They said a .32-callbre revolver had
been used in the shooting.

Camden
Lodge of Elks will hold services tomorrow night at the Schiller home,
at which time the body will be on view. The funeral will be private on
Wednesday with burial in Evergreen Cemetery.

Judge
Pancoast last night recalled that young Schiller was arrested two
months ago after he had kept his wife a prisoner on a lot all night.
At that time "Jake," as he was affectionately known to his
friends, tried to act as a mediator between his son and
daughter-in-law.

The
young Mrs. Schiller at that time told Pancoast she believed her
husband was deranged and asked permission to have him examined by
physicians she would name. Pancoast released young Schiller in the
custody at his father. The police judge said the examination had
apparently not been made as no commitment papers had been sent through
his office.

Few
political workers were better known that "Jake”
Schiller. He
was born in Philadelphia and was brought to Camden in early life by
his parents, who conducted a saloon near Twenty-third and Federal
Streets. East Camden was then the town of Stockton and the scene of
Saturday night's shooting was a farm. Schiller recalled to friends
that he drove cows through a pasture on which his house now stands.

He
was originally a Democrat but became a Republican through persuasion
of the late U. S. Senator David Baird and remained a friend of the
former leader for 40 years.

Schiller
had been melancholy over the death of his wife on February 13 last,
friends said.

None
was more in the public eye 35 years ago in South Jersey than Schiller.
It was the that he figured prominently in one phase of the locally
celebrated Shaw murder trial.

It
was during the second trial of Eli Shaw for the murder of his mother
and grandmother, Mrs. Anna Shaw and Mrs. Emma Zane. They were found
shot to death in September, 1897, in their bedroom of their home on Line
Street near Third. Detective John Painter had found a revolver
hidden in the chimney, one of several points in the circumstantial
evidence that resulted in the indictment of Shaw. He was then a widely
known young man about town and his arrest caused a big sensation. As
time drew near for the trial feeling was intense, for there were
adherents for and against the son and grandson, those arguments often
grew bitter.

Henry
Sidney Scovel, then one of the prominent criminal lawyers of Camden
county, was retained to defend Shaw. Scovel was son of James Matlack
Scovel, himself one of the leading barristers of this section. When
the trial of Shaw was under way the city was astounded when it was
charged Scovel had tampered with the jury. It was Schiller who made
the charge.

The
trial stopped abruptly. Scovel emphatically denied the story of Schiller and demanded vindication. An indictment for embracery was
returned and at a trial, which had Camden on the tip toe of expectancy
for days, it developed there was absolutely nothing to verify the
charge, and Scovel was acquitted. He acted in two subsequent trials of
Shaw, the second being a disagreement and the third acquittal for the
son and grandson of the slain women.

Schiller,
strangely enough, in later years became friendly with Scovel and when
the latter was prosecutor from 1905 to 1912, "Jake," as he
was familiarly known, was usually to be found in the office at the
courthouse. Scovel was then a white haired man of flowery speech and
impressive personality who let bygones be bygones.

Long
Excise Inspector

For
more than 20 years Schiller was inspector of the Excise Commission in
Camden. It was during the days when the principal object of the
inspector apparently was to keep the saloonmen in line. He was
considered pretty good at that job, by no means an unimportant one
from the organization viewpoint. It was also during that period the
city had its troubles enforcing the Sunday liquor laws. There were
those who considered they had enough pull to keep their back or side
doors open on the Sabbath to let in their regular thirsty trade. Some
succeeded in getting by, but "Jake" had his own troubles in
keeping the boys straight and sometimes causing their arrest, although
that was not frequent by any means.

His
reign as inspector, too, was in the halcyon days of free lunch
and schooner beers. Saloonmen themselves were against the lunch
idea eventually since it meant too much of a financial burden. Jake kept tabs on the recalcitrants so that the liquor dealers
knew who was obeying the order and who was "cutting
corners" to get some extra trade.

Schiller
was virtually raised with the saloon trade since his father was
one of the old time German beer garden owners here, having had a
place at Fourth and
Line
Streets. That was in the days when that
section was largely populated by the German, English and Irish
families lately come from the motherlands. When he was a boy, Schiller entered the U. S. Navy and served several years. When
he came out he went to the old Town of Stockton, now East Camden, where he opened a saloon on
Federal
Street near Twenty-fourth. At that period, some 45 years ago, Stockton
seethed with politics and it was just as natural for a young man
to get into the game as it was for a duck to swim. Jake at that
period was a Democrat and during the battle in the middle 90's
when the West Jersey Traction and the Camden Horse Railway
Company were fighting for the rail franchises in the town he was
a candidate for council from the old Second Ward. The late
Robert Lee was the Republican candidate and won out by the
narrow margin of two votes. In later years Schiller became a
Republican and was elected a constable.

Never
Ran From Scrap

Throughout
his career Schiller never quite forgot his training In the navy,
particularly with reference to boxing or fighting at the drop of
a hat. He was a scrapper in his early years and never ran from a
fight. That was just as true in political battles, frequent then
around the polls, as in purely personal matters. And Jake would
battle for a friend just as readily as for any personal reason.
He was usually in the thick of the political fracases of the
years when it was the accepted thing to fight at the drop of a
hat. But he also had lots of native wit which kept things
interesting when he was a frequenter of the prosecutors' office
during the Scovel and Wolverton regime's. In late years, with
the approach of age, he had tempered his propensity to get into
an argument and liked nothing more than to tell of “the good
old days" when he helped the elder Baird in his
organization battles.

Reesman
won and among the first to visit the hospital after learning of
the shooting was the city commissioner. Reesman was his latest
chief as lights inspector as he was attached to the highway
department. Commissioner Frank B. Hanna also visited the
hospital.

"In
all the years I have known him he has always been an
enthusiastic and loyal friend with a good heart for everybody in
trouble," Congressman Wolverton said when he learned of
Schiller's death.

Schiller
was also a familiar figure at the Elks
Club, where he was an
ardent card player. But after the death of his wife he gave up
this pastime, contenting himself with watching the games. He was
also a frequent visitor among old friends at the courthouse.

John Lenkowski, upper left; Earl Stainker, center, and James Mealy,
upper right, all identified yesterday in a police line-up by victims
and witnesses of four holdups and robberies. The trio was picked from
five suspects who were viewed by more than 20 victims of recent
holdups.

Charged with possession of stolen goods,
Leon Grenkwicz, 21, of 1213 Louis
street, and George Sanders, 22, of 307 Walnut street, Haddonfield, yesterday were held without bail for the grand Jury by Police Judge Lewis Liberman.

Charges were placed against them by Detective
Benjamin Simon after they had been arrested in Audubon for being drunk and disorderly. Simon said his investigation indicated they were the men who, on September 25, stole a liquor truck belonging to James Thompson, wholesale beverage dealer, from
Fourth and Arch
streets, where it was parked.

Simon said that he has the sworn statement of Hugh Gaffney, of 3 Albertson avenue, Westmont, and
John Whelan, of 831 Linden
street, that Grenkwicz
tried to sell him some of the stolen liquor, for
which Thompson is the sole agent in Camden.

Furthermore,
said Simon, he has the evidence of
a Merchantville man and his sister, whose names he did not reveal, that Sanders sold them a case of the same brand.

CAMDEN
COURIER-POST - MARCH 17, 1936

WOMAN,
STUDENTS TAKEN IN HOUSE RAIDCamden
Residents and Phila. Visitors
Arrested in Parkside
Dwelling

Three Camden women and two Temple
University students were arrested in a raid on an al1eged disorderly house
at 1450 Kenwood Avenue last night.

Charged with being proprietress ofthe
place isMrs. Charlotte Grimes, 48. She
is the wife ofElmer
Grimes, employed by the city as a custodian at Convention
Hall and formerly custodian of the Camden
High School athletic field, according to City Prosecutor John H.
Reiners, Jr.

The students under arrest gave their names as Sidney
Goldberg, 19,
of 1400 Mt. Ephraim Avenue, and Herman
Katz, 19, of2601 Wilder Street, Philadelphia.

According to Welch, Mrs. Grimes
signed a statement in
which
she said she had resided at 1450 Kenwood Avenue for 27 years, and
maintained a disorderly house there for the last seven years. He has had
men watching the place for a year, to get evidence on which to base a raid, he said. He
declared that only persons recommended by patrons were admitted, and then
only after making telephone calls.

Simon, who lives three blocks from the
house, and Mardino saw a car with Pennsylvania license
plates parked near the place last night,
Welch said. They waited until they saw
Goldberg and Katz leaving the house, and questioned them. It was on the
strength of statements by the two youths that the raid was made,
Welch added.

Cases Continued

The five prisoners were taken to
police
court today. After waiting until 10.05 for Simon
and Mardino
to appear,
Welch
asked that the case be continued until tomorrow.

Judge Lewis
Liberman set bail for $1000
for Mrs. Grimes; $500 each for the other two women,
$200 for Katz and released Goldberg in the custody of his brother, an
attorney.

The latter said the two youths were willing to plead guilty
to disorderly conduct charges, admitting they had been in the place, but
Judge Liberman said he preferred to wait and hear the entire case tomorrow.

In answer to the query by the
court as to how the two knew about the existence of the disorderly
house" Katz said:

"Oh, things like that get
broadcast around the university."

Camden Courier-Post -
August 26, 1936

CAMDEN
COURIER-POST

August
26, 1936

Camden
Courier-Post - August 30, 1936

CIGAR
STORE RAIDED BY ‘SECRET6’ SQUADAlleged
Proprietor is Held in $500 Bail for Police Court Hearing

Raiders
of the “Secret 6” of the Camden police department yesterday arrested
Oscar Bendler, 40, as the alleged proprietor of a cigar store at 217
Market Street, where they reported hey seized horse racing sheets, three
phones and $114.

Bendler,
who gave his address as 310 Erie Street, is charged with violating the
city ordinance prohibiting gambling and is held in $500 bail for a
police court hearing today.

The
raid on Bendler’s place was made after the police squad had searched
five other small shops and found only legitimate business being
conducted,

MATTSON
SUSPECT HELD IN JAIL HEREAdmitted Ex-convict Tallies With
Description of West Coast Slayer

A
suspect in the kidnapping of Charles Mattson, 10, of Tacoma, Washington,
is being held by Camden police.

The
suspect was arrested last night by Patrolman Raymond Carson as he appeared
before the sergeant's dealt at police headquarters and asked for a night's
lodging.

The
suspect gave his name as Edward F. Keach, 40, with no home. He admitted he
served three years in the New Jersey state prison for larceny. He was
arrested for the crime at Newark when he was 23, accord mg to an admission
to Carson and City Detective Benjamin
Simon.

"His
face resembles the sketched portrait published in newspapers of the
suspect wanted after the Mattson boy was stolen from the home of his
father, Dr. William W. Mattson, on the night of December 27, 1936,"
Carson said.

The
suspect is described as being slender built, has sharp features, similar
to the fugitive kidnaper, has dark hair and dark complexion. He is five
feet, 10 inches tall and weighs about 165 pounds.

Keach
admitted to
Simon and Carson that he has been roaming the country for three
years and has been in almost every state in the Union except the state of
Washington.

The
Mattson boy was kidnapped from his parents home while a brother, a sister
and a girl friend stood helplessly by, cowered by the pistol of the
kidnaper. The kidnaper demanded a ransom of $28,000. The parents were
prepared to pay the ransom when the body of the boy was found dead near
Everett, Washington, several miles from the scene of the kidnapping.

Simon said Keach will be held here until police can check up his
record and his whereabouts during the past three years.

Camden
Courier-Post - February 4, 1938

4
Hurt as Auto Strikes Pole Strewing Live Wires on Road

Four
persons in a small coupe were injured last night when the machine crashed
into a pole at Seventeenth Street and Admiral
Wilson Boulevard during a dense fog.

The
car broke off a telephone pole at the base, strewing live wires on the
highway. Traffic was detoured until the damage could be repaired by Bell
Telephone Company linemen.

The
fog, which covered Camden and its suburbs like a blanket, grounded air
liners at Central Airport,
slowed up motor traffic on highways and the Camden bridge.

Thomas
Tomlinson, 18, of Oak Avenue, Delaware Township, was taking driving
lessons in a car he purchased a week ago when he crashed into the pole.
Police said three passengers were crowded in the front seat and three more
in a rumble seat.

Tomlinson
was driving on a student's permit and was accompanied by Allen Filer, 20,
a licensed driver, of 713 Grant
Street, police learned, Filer is in Cooper
Hospital with a fractured right leg. His brother, William, 18,
suffered a possible concussion of the brain and is in the same hospital.
Tomlinson received bruises of the right leg and arm and was treated at
Cooper Hospital.

Samuel
McCall, 18, of 708 Bailey
Street, was taken to West
Jersey Hospital, where he was treated for cuts of the nose. He told
police there that someone struck him with a bottle and he would get his
assailant later. When taken to police headquarters. McCall was confronted
by the others and admitted he was injured in the automobile accident, City
Detective Benjamin
Simon said.

Mary
Williamson, 18, and Eleanor Shockley, 16, both of 625 North Front Street,
escaped with a few minor bruises.

Delaware
river ferryboats were operated with caution as the view of pilots was
obscured, by the density of the fog. Whistles were blown continuously and
fog bells rang throughout the night.

Automobiles
and buses were slowed down to five miles an hour by thick fog in the
suburbs, especially in lowlands and near meadows.

The
airport reported all local planes grounded and no airliners were making a
call here.

The
Weather Bureau forecast indicated it will be colder and cloudy today. The
cloudiness will increase tomorrow followed by rain at night.

Police
believed they had frustrated the formation of hoodlum bandit mob yesterday
with the arrest of five South Camden youths after a holdup of a grocery
store at Tenth Street and Ferry
Avenue.

Two
of the five suspects were identified by the grocer, John Jacobs, as the
bandits who entered his store at 960 Ferry
Avenue, held him up at gun point and escaped with $23.95. , Jacobs
told Detectives Heber McCord
and Clarence Arthur that he
recognized one of the bandits as Anthony
Mona, 19, of 947 South
Third Street, a former boxer, whom he saw fighting in the ring, McCord
said.

According
to Simon the youths were
"just beginning to embark on a career of crime."

When
the others were brought to the detective bureau for questioning, all but
$2 of the loot was recovered, Detective McCord
said.

McCordsaid the youths signed statements
saying Mona
and Labato entered the store while the others waited in Mona's
car outside the store, all fleeing together after the holdup.

Camden Courier-Post -
February 16, 1938

Poor Acting Leads To Youth's Arrest In Theft of Cash

Curious detectives yesterday made it embarrassing for Charles Pennington, 21, of 906 South Seventh
street.

The youth told his employer, Louis Tartar, junk dealer of
Ninth and Liberty streets, a stranger stole $25 in receipts from a load of materials shipped to Philadelphia. Pennington's employer took him to the Detective Bureau to report the theft. There, Detectives Benjamin
Simon and Joseph
Mardino chatted with the youth.

Frankly doubting the story he told, the detectives suggested Pennington
disrobe. The sleuths found $22 concealed in his shoes. Simon and Mardino
said Pennington admitted the money belonged to his employer and that the
theft story was false. He was held for police court on a larceny charge.

Because the complainant was not in police court yesterday Judge
Gene
R. Mariano continued the hearing of a larceny charge against Charles Pennington,
21, of 906 South Seventh
street, until today.

Louis Tarter, the youth's employer, took him to detective bureau
Tuesday when Pennington said a stranger stole $25 in receipts from a load of junk shipped to Philadelphia by Tarter.

Detectives Benjamin
Simon and Joseph
Mardino forced Pennington to
disrobe and found $22 in his shoes. Pennington, according to the detectives, admitted his robbery story was a fake and he was held on the
larceny charge. Pennington said the money belonged to Tarter, who has a junk yard at
Ninth and Liberty
streets.

Camden
Courier-Post - February 18, 1938

PHILA. MAN ARRESTED IN THEFT OF LIQUOR

David Miller, 27, a window decorator for a liquor concern, who lives at 547 Whitaker Avenue, Philadelphia, was arrested yesterday and charged with larceny of whisky on complaint of
Benjamin Rosensweig, proprietor of the Camden Bottling Co., 254
Kaighn
avenue.

Miller had an office at the
Kaighn
avenue address. Rosensweig told Detectives Ben Simon and
Gus Fortune he missed $500 worth of liquor in the past several months. The detectives found whisky hidden in equipment used by Miller.

At Miller's home, they said, they found $180 worth of liquor, and Miller, they reported, admitted some thefts.

Camden
Courier-Post - February 28, 1938

M.F.
Middleton Felled by Gas In House Here

FormerCityCommissioner
Found UnconsciousinOldHome

With
gas flowing from a pipe detached from a gas range, former City
Commissioner Melbourne F. Middleton,
Jr., was found unconscious in the
kitchen of his former home at 538 Cooper
street early Saturday night.

Middleton
was reported last night to still be in a critical condition at West Jersey
Hospital, where he was taken. The Camden Fire Department First Aid Squad
worked over him for an hour at the house in a vain effort to revive him.

Middleton,
a former president of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, and one time city
councilman, was found by a son, C. Barry Middleton, and a friend, John
Williams Rossell, who lives with the Middletons on Laurel road,
Moorestown. Middleton was clad in overalls and two large pipe wrenches
were lying on the kitchen floor near him.

Young
Middleton said his father told his family he intended to take up some
linoleum in the kitchen of his former home. Middleton first went to his
office Saturday and then to St. Paul's Episcopal Church to a service. From
there he was traced to his former home, which is owned by him.

When
Middleton failed to return home for dinner at the usual time Saturday his
son and Rossell decided to search for him. When young Middleton discovered
his father's plight he notified police. Patrolmen Frank Cavallo, Henry
Lutz, Walter Vecander and
George Getley responded in radio cars
and gave first aid until the fire department squad arrived.

The
firemen worked on the former commissioner one hour with an inhalator
before ordering his removal to the hospital, where they continued to work
on Middleton for another hour but were unable to revive him. Hospital
physicians continued working on him without success. They said his
condition was critical.

Gas
Man Called

At
4 p. m. Saturday the family living next to Middlemen's home telephoned
Public Service that gas was coming from the house. Public Service sent a
man to investi­gate but he was unable to get into the house.

Young
Middleton and Rossell said they reached the house at 6.17 p. m.

While
he was a member of the first city commission Middleton was director of
finance but never missed responding to all alarms of fire. He was a member
of the fire committee while serving in City Council as a member from the
Second ward. In that capacity he also answered all alarms.

GUNMEN
IN PHILADELPHIA
MURDER COLOZZI IN NUMBERS WARWestmont
Victim Reported to Have Been Aide of Klosterman
SCARDUZIO DEATH TIEUP ALSO SEEN

A
reputed employee of Fred
Klosterman, Camden numbers baron, was shot and killed in
Philadelphia last night in what police there believed was an
inter-city fight for control of the numbers racket.

The
dead man was Joseph
Colozzi, 49, of Westmont, known in the
underworld and police circles as a “cheap thief”.

While
Captain John Murphy, of the Philadelphia vice squad, expressed
belief the slaying of Colozzi and shooting last Sunday of Klosterman
were related.County
Detective Chief Lawrence
T. Doran was working on another angle.

“Both
of them were convicted of similar offences- thievery, and they
apparently were hooked up together lately. I could not say
whether either of them ever was In the numbers racket."

Philadelphia
police, however, seemed certain Colozzi was shot as a result of
a new “numbers war”. They said they had Information that the
dead man apparently was in the employ of a Camden numbers bank.

Credence
was given the report that local numbers barons are attempting to
“muscle in” on the “Philadelphia play” when Irving
Bickel, 34, who admits being friendly with Klosterman
was arrested yesterday.

New
Setup Alleged

Bickel,
Murphy said, declared he had been contacting numbers writers in
Philadelphia to inform them of a “new setup” and invite them
to join.

Simon
and Mills were in Philadelphia again today working on the Colozzi shooting to ascertain whether there was any connection
between the slaying and shooting of Klosterman
on Sunday. Simon
said he would investigate to learn if the slain man ever had
been in the employ of Klosterman.

A
theory advanced yesterday by police that Klosterman
had been shot by killers hired by Atlantic City gamblers brought
on an expression of surprise from shore police.

Detective
Captain Frank Feretti said he did not know of any gambling house
near the Union Station in which Klosterman
may have been interested. He said no request had “been made by
Camden police for an inquiry at the resort.”

Colozzi
was murdered at Eleventh and Carpenter Streets, South
Philadelphia, last night. The top of his head was blasted by
shotgun slugs to end1a
career in crime that extended over 30 year, with at least 30
arrests.

Colozzi's
body was found lying across the trolley tracks in a darkened
section near the Bartlett Junior High School.

Police
of the Seventh and Carpenter streets station a few minutes
before received an anonymous telephone call that "there's
been a shooting at Eleventh and Catherine.” The caller hung
up.

No
One Sees
Shooting

Homicide
squad detectives under Acting Captain William C. Bugle rounded
up a number of persons in the neighborhood but could locate no
one who admitted he saw the shooting. That was what the police
expected, for the section has been the scene of unsolved gang
killings in the past.

Captain
Engle admitted the possibility that
Colozzi, may have been
allied in some way with Jersey gamblers attempting to poach on
Philadelphia territory,and
had met sudden death for that reason.

Though
Captain Engle described the murdered man as a “cheap thief"
he wouldn't deny the possible link to the threatened outbreak in
a numbers war between rival operators as evidenced by the Klosterman
shooting.

But
the story told Captain Murphy, head of Philadelphia's vice
squad, by a Camden man known to be a pal of Klosterman,
put further credence in the rumored attempts at revision along
the numbers front

The
man Is Bickel of a hotel at Delaware Avenue and Market street,
who yesterday was held in $1000
bail for a hearing next Tuesday by Magistrate
Thomas Connor in Philadelphia’s central police court on
suspicion of being connected with the numbers racket. He was
picked up in Germantown.

Captain
Murphy said Bickel admitted to him he was contacting various
numbers writers for the purpose of having them pool their
resources.

"He
admitted verbally he had the names of several Philadelphia
writers and that he was trying to line up the boys,” Murphy
said. “He is trying to coerce them with a new numbers set-up.
That will cause a revival of gang warfare”.

Although
the murdered man was never known to have had theatrical
connections police said he often boasted he was an entertainer
in a New York cabaret.

Brother
of Philadelphia Cop

The
body of Colozzi, brother of a Philadelphia policeman, was
identified by the officers wife at the Pennsylvania Hospital,
Eighth and Spruce Streets. Five bullets had penetrated his
skull.

Police
said Colozzi lived at 113 Westmont Avenue, Westmont, since his
last release from prison, some time during September 1939.

He
lived with his wife Rose and most of their eight children.

In
Colozzi’s pocket, when a police ambulance arrived at the
scene, was a card bearing his name and the Westmont address.

He
was one of two brothers of John Colozzi, whose police record was
said to be longer even than Joe’s, and is being sought.

Police
of Haddon Township said Colozzi was known to them only as an
"innocent” junk dealer, who plied his trade picking up
old car parts in and around the section/

Colozzi's
last brush with the law according to the Philadelphia police
records, was last Spring when he was implicated in a dress
robbery. He was freed in September after serving part of his
sentence.

Meanwhile
Camden city and county detectives continued their investigations
into the pump gun shooting of Klosterman,
who remained in critical condition at West Jersey Hospital.

Colozzi
had run afoul of the law since early school days, but he often
boasted that “with all the friends I got, I can't stay in jail
long." He invariably managed to regain freedom, only to
renew his jostles with police.

The
stiffest sentence he ever got was on December 13, 1934 when
Judge Frank F. Neutze
sent him and an accomplice to state prison for robbing a coat
factory at 7 South 3rd Street four months before.

In passing sentence on the much arrested “Manayunk
Joe”, Judge Neutze
put aside pleas the prisoner was the father of eight children
and sent him “up the river” for a term ox six to seven
years.

"You're a typical criminal and a menace to the
public" Judge Neutze
said in a searing rebuke. "A light sentence won't do you
any good. Your record is one of the longest shown to me since l
have been on the bench. You represent a type that is better off
behind bars, for outside of prison you are a menace to the
public. I’ll go the limit with you”

Obtained
Police Badge

But
Colozzi merely nodded, apparently thinking of which “friend”
he would call on this time to get him out.

Previously
Joe had established a second-hand tire shop on the White Horse
Pike at Lindenwold and escaped serious penalty as police held a
continuous club over his head for suspected escapades.

On
one occasion he diverted his talents to another
“profession”- extortion. By some means he obtained a police
badge in Clementon township.
A few months later he and
several other members of the police department wererounded up for
wholesale extortion of money from motorists and truck drivers

Those
were the day of Prohibition, and the White Horse Pike was a
frequently used. Highway for passage of beer trucks between
Philadelphia and Camden and Atlantic City and other sea shore points.

The
extortion continued among other motorists most of them guilty of
petty violations. There were times when Colozzi took “anything
they had”, police said.

35-Year
Police Record

Colozzi’s
police record dates back to1904, when as a a child of 12 he was
committed to the Glen Mills, Pa. Home for Boys for petty
larceny.He served 19 months.

In
1909 he was given a two-month sentence In the Montgomery county
.jail at Norristown PA, after another conviction for larcerny.

Then:
followed a series of brushes with the law, with Colozzi landing
behind bars a dozen times, but invariably obtaining freedom
before the expiration of his term.

The
record continues: 1914, committed to Philadelphia County Prison,
larceny, three months;

In
1915, for receiving stolen goods, Eastern Penitentiary, four
years and six months;

In
1919, at Newark, larceny, sentenced to two to seven months and
pardoned in December, 1920.

A
10-year stretch followed during which his name failed to appear
on police records.

Acquitted
of Charge

In
1929, State Police of the Hammonton barracks arrested him for
extortion, but he was acquitted in Camden County Criminal Court
May 90, 1930.

In
1930 he was arrested in Trenton for breaking and entering and
sentenced to a year and six months in Mercer County jail.

In
1933 he was taken in custody by the U.S. Marshal at Trenton. No
disposition of the case is listed.

Later
in 1933. he was arrested for Larceny in Philadelphia, and no
record is known further of the case.

Later
the same year Camden police arrested him for attempted larceny.
No disposition.

In
October 1933, he was jailedby U. S. Marshals for violation of the Dyer Act,
interstate transportation of a stolen auto, but was placed on
five years’ probation.

In
July. 1934 he was arrested in Camden for breaking and entering
and in December of the same year was sentenced to six to seven
years in State Prison.

The
last time he appeared in local police records was less than a
year ago, when he was arrested on a detainer for violation of
federal parole and sent to Mercer County jail. A few days later
he was freed.

Gettysburg
PA Times - October 6, 1943

Bombings
Being Probed By FBI

Camden
NJ, October 6 (AP)- The federal Bureau of Investigation took a hand
Tuesday in the investigation of two bombings here early on Sunday.
The first blast ripped the doors off the H.B. Wilson public
school. The second wrecked the entrance to a poolroom
in a different part of the city. They occurred about two hours apart.
Detective Benjamin Simon said the FBI is
working on the case because the school is headquarters for a draft
board.
"We are convinced that the bombings
are the work of the same person or persons," he added "even
though there appears to be no connection between the two."
Simon said the bombs were of the
home-made variety- sections of heavy pipe filled with black
powder.

Waterloo
IA Daily Courier - February 29, 1948

INTEREST
AROUSAL

Camden
NJ (UP)- Detective Benjamin Simon had a personal interest in his
investigation of the theft of three pistols from the gun shop of William
Stein. Called on the case, Simon discovered that one of the missing
weapons was his own. He left it there for re-bluing.